


Malum in Se

by imunbreakabledude



Series: Eve and Villanelle and the sexy HP AU [2]
Category: Killing Eve (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Established Relationship, F/F, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 23:13:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30046251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imunbreakabledude/pseuds/imunbreakabledude
Summary: After the dust settles from their life changing adventure that brought them together, Eve and Villanelle live in a magical bubble. But when a new mystery pulls them back into their former roles as Auror and wanted criminal, they must reconcile the good and evil within, or else be torn apart.Twists. Turns. The irreverent darkness of Killing Eve with the magic mechanics of Harry Potter.
Relationships: Eve Polastri/Villanelle | Oksana Astankova
Series: Eve and Villanelle and the sexy HP AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2210343
Comments: 7
Kudos: 34





	Malum in Se

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, everyone.
> 
> Last year I wrote a villaneve Hogwarts AU fic with lots of murders and a twisty turny plot. I had a blast. Some people asked about a sequel, and I said there's no way I could follow it up.
> 
> Now I am foolishly attempting to do just that.
> 
> If you have not read [Means, Motive, Opportunity](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22551319/chapters/53889430), READ THAT FIRST! This fic is a direct sequel and thus contains humungo spoilers for the ending of the first story - and I do think it's rather good, so if KE HP AU appeals to you (which I guess it does if you clicked on this fic), read that story first. You won't regret it!

The rhododendron is doing well. A new welcome mat lies on the stoop. The bulb in the little light to the right side of the door has been replaced, so it doesn’t flicker anymore.

These are the only factors that prove this is not a memory, regurgitated from the depths of Eve’s memory by pure regret and insecurity.

Eve takes a deep breath and presses her thumb against the doorbell.

The sound of footsteps, and a few seconds later, Niko answers the door. “Eve?”

“Niko. Hi.”

“It’s been a while.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Eve pauses. “Are you well?”

“Well enough. And you?”

“Not bad, not bad,” Eve says. “So you’re probably wondering why I’m here.”

“Indeed I am.”

“I know it might be a bit weird, but I’ve been traveling, and I really need a place to stay. Only for a night, maybe two. If it’s not too much to ask, I’d really appreciate it, for old time’s sake…” Eve’s beginning to babble, but she can’t stop herself.

“Relax, Eve,” Niko says. “You can stay.”

“Really?”

“For old time’s sake.” Niko pulls the door open wide, and Eve steps forward, but then Niko places himself in the doorway, blocking her. “One thing, though.”

“Oh?”

“Who’s _she?_ ”

As they cut a swath through the States, Eve and Villanelle blended into the Muggle world as much as possible. Eve thought it best to avoid the American wizarding community in case the UK Ministry put out a wanted call for them across continents. Villanelle scoffed at this abundance of caution, but she played along, because it was fun, in its way, Eve teaching Villanelle about the Muggle world. They pretended to be _normal_ , and they weren’t half bad. But then, out of the public eye, they could use magic as they pleased. Unburdened by expectations and laws and titles like _Auror_ or _suspect_.

The entire experience felt like an alternate reality. Pleasant, but disconnected, on a separate timeline than the rest of Eve’s life. As if in that moment when, pursued by Dementors, she Apparated away from the Hogwarts ground, she appeared in a different dimension entirely. For a while, Eve almost believed it.

Even now, it’s hard to believe, as she lets Niko lead her through the house where she once lived, as if she’s a guest. A stranger. Much of it is the same. The dining room table, the china, the couch, the sagging bookshelves. But Eve’s trained eyes know exactly where to spot the few differences: the table is compulsively clean, not dotted with half full glasses of water and opened mail, as she would’ve left it. The dishes are tucked in the cabinet, except for one lone plate soaking in the sink. And the gaps on the bookshelves left by Eve’s few Muggle books she could openly display (mostly crime thrillers) have been filled by Niko’s CDs and other knickknacks. 

Stranger still than her following on Niko’s heels like she needs guidance, is Villanelle trailing along behind her. All at once, Eve imagines what this house must look like to Villanelle. Even though she’s become acquainted with many Muggle traditions over the past few months, on the run, her head must be full of judgments. 

Eve is beginning regret bringing her here, but the bottom line is, they need a place to sleep. They’re far safer here than anywhere in the wizarding community, with the Ministry likely still searching for them.

“Are you hungry?” Niko asks. Ever the polite host, even in these unusual circumstances. 

“Thank you, but we already ate,” Eve says.

“Hold on,” Villanelle says. “What do you have?”

Niko pauses to think. “Some biscuits. Crackers… and there’s a bit of Shepherd’s Pie left in the fridge.”

“What’s that?”

Eve desperately wants to jump in, and spare Niko the trouble, but she knows there’s no use trying to get between Villanelle and food.

“Uh, it’s potatoes… curry meat… onions, peas, carrots. That sort of thing.”

“It sounds delicious.”

After Villanelle fills her belly, Eve sends her to go shower so she can have a moment with Niko. They sit across from each other at the kitchen table. Niko pours them each a bit of whiskey.

“Hi,” Eve says. What else does one say when meeting for the first time since their divorce was finalized three years ago?

“Do I even want to know what’s going on?” Niko asks.

“To be honest, probably not,” Eve says.

“Still working for that magic government?”

“Not exactly,” Eve says. “I’ve been in the States, actually.”

“So what made you come back here?”

“A friend needs my help,” Eve says.

“And this _friend_ with you,” Niko says. It takes Eve a second to process he’s referring to Villanelle. “Is she also an… Auror?” It takes him visible effort to pronounce the word. He knew it well enough – Eve told him all the basics about the her job, just enough about the Wizarding world so he could understand her – but he was never fully comfortable with it. And to be fair, Eve never fully shared it with him.

“Not exactly,” Eve says again. For even if Niko weren’t Muggle through and through, it’d be impossible to explain what exactly her relationship with Villanelle is. Eve isn’t sure she knows it herself.

Eve has never slept in the guest room before. Although it’s mostly unchanged from how she remembers it – same bedspread, same print of Niko’s family on the wall – the main novelty is a small terrarium on the dresser with a thin snake contained within. Eve lets out a small gasp when she sees it, not because she’s frightened, but because it’s so incongruous with Niko’s personality.

Before she can even ask, Niko explains, “Belongs to a colleague. Told her I’d look after it for the weekend. I’ll move it downstairs.”

“Don’t. I love it,” Villanelle says, with an off-putting grin. She crouches down to get a good look at the snake.

Niko offered to make up the couch for _“your friend”_ (for even after multiple introductions, he refuses to address her as “Villanelle”, apparently taking it for a strange wizard name beyond his Muggle scope), but Villanelle politely declined.

Now, Niko glances at the single bed and raises an eyebrow. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

“No, thank you.” Villanelle pulls out her wand, and with a single wave, conjures a small bedroll on the floor. “See?”

Niko stares at it, blanches, and leaves without further comment.

“That was unnecessary,” Eve says.

“I thought you told him about magic.”

“Yeah, he knows, but… it’s a little frightening to him.”

“That’s why things ended,” Villanelle says, inferring.

Eve wants to snap at her for assuming, but she’s not far off the mark. “Basically.”

“Why would you marry a Muggle?” Villanelle says it with plain curiosity, lacking the derision that most wizards had when asking Eve the same question.

“I thought we could make it work. My mom is a Muggle, but my dad married her anyway.”

“And they’re happy?”

“No,” Eve says. “They split when I was a teenager.”

Villanelle stares blankly.

“I thought I could do better than them, I guess.” Unfortunately, Eve learned the hard way that marrying someone to prove a point never goes well.

Villanelle is apparently bored with Eve’s family history, and turns her focus to the snake. She taps on the glass, and the reptile stirs, slithering towards her. Villanelle’s mouth starts moving, and a strange rasping sound comes out. It sends a chill down Eve’s spine.

“What are you doing?”

“Saying hello to this little guy,” Villanelle says. She cocks her head, apparently listening to the faint hissing from the tank, then makes a strange hiss of her own.

“You’re a Parselmouth?”

Villanelle glances back at Eve. “A what?”

“You’re speaking like a snake.”

“Oh.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me that?”

“I didn’t know.” Villanelle shrugs, not especially affected by this discovery. Eve supposes that speaking to reptiles may not be exciting when Villanelle already has considerable powers beyond the ordinary wizard – her intense skills in Occlumency, not to mention the incredible bursts of magic she can produce without a wand when she’s pushed emotionally.

Eve watches her hiss back and forth with the snake. At times, Villanelle feels so untouchable. Like another species. Like she’s behind a glass tank, and Eve’s looking in. Or maybe it’s the other way around. None of it makes any sense.

It’s a wonder they’re still together.

Eve turns out the lights and lies on the bed, staring right up at the ceiling. To be under this roof again, in a different room, is bizarrely familiar and distant at the same time. Like deja vu. She has little time to ponder, before Villanelle slips into bed next to her, and presses close, nuzzling into Eve’s neck.

Villanelle’s always out like a light, maybe another magical talent of hers. Eve envies this; she tends to ruminate.

_Eve received the message at the public library in Gresham, Oregon. She was on her own, since Villanelle found Muggle libraries extremely pointless, but Eve liked to stop in once in a while to see if there were any decent paperbacks on the fifty-cent rack, and also to check her e-mail. Going on the run, they were living off take-out most days, and that was pretty expensive without any real income, so to offset the need for petty robbery (Eve was former law enforcement, after all), she signed up for every restaurant discount list she could find. Every couple days, she’d hit the computer lab at the local library to see what good coupons hit her inbox and print them out._

_This particular day, as she was debating how likely she was to use the offer for a four-dollar foot long sub, the computer screen suddenly went dark. Eve slapped the side of the monitor and cursed. She was about to check the power cord when the screen lit up again with a picture of Kenny’s face._

_“Eve?”_

_Eve’s heart began pounding, and she looked around her at the other patrons. Mostly old folks at the library in the middle of the day, but no one seemed to notice the strange occurrence only feet away from them. As Eve looked back at the screen, she figured most Muggles would probably take it for a simple video chat, though Eve can tell this is no basic Skype. Not the way it suddenly took over her screen, instantly finding this particular computer she was using at this particular moment._

_“Kenny?” she whispers, unsure if this will work both ways. “What is this?”_

_“Eve—” Kenny repeats. “Listen, quickly.” The screen flickers and blurs, though not in the way that screens normally do. Kenny’s face ripples and changes colors, but then comes back into focus. This is no ordinary connection; Kenny must have found a way to utilize his experimental magic-technology hybrid machines to contact her. “We need you.”_

_“What’s going on?”_

_“I can’t say much.Your Muggle computer won’t be able to sustain this connection. You need to come back to England now. We’re in serious trouble.”_

_“I can’t come back, Kenny, you know that–”_

_“There’s no time. Tell me. What became of Villanelle?”_

_Eve had no idea what to answer. Was it safe to confide in Kenny how she’d fled the country with the murderer she was meant to catch, because of a greater common enemy? Was Kenny even aware that his own mother was a megalomaniacal monster? But the screen ripples again, and the computer is starting to smoke, so Eve lets her gut answer. “She’s with me.”_

_“Good,” Kenny managed, his voice echoing as his image warps into a blob. “Bring her.”_

_Then, the computer melted into a puddle on the desk. Apparently, Kenny’s magic was too much for this poor Dell from a few years ago._

_When Eve told Villanelle, she expected resistance. Instead, Villanelle asked, “When do we leave?”_

After breakfast, Eve lights a fire.

Niko creeps up behind her. “Isn’t it a bit warm for that?”

“Magic thing,” Eve explains. “You might want to look away, it’s a little freaky.”

“Please tell me you aren’t summoning spirits or anything in my house. That’s beyond my limit.”

“No spirits,” Eve says. “Only transportation.”

Normally, Eve prefers Apparition over Floo Powder, but according to the additional instructions Kenny sent, his hideout has an Anti-Apparition enchantment, plus a load of other security features. Eve hopes not to find out why they need such measures. But for now, as Kenny recommended, she’ll use Floo Powder to get there.

She tosses a handful of powder into the fireplace, and the flame turns green.

“After you,” she says.

But Villanelle shakes her head. “Ladies first.”

So Eve clears her throat. “The Cauldron Base,” she pronounces, as Kenny assured this phrase would get her to the right place. Then she steps into the flames.

Warmth seeps into her bones, and a second later, Eve emerges in a wide room with a low ceiling. The light is dim, and the walls are earthy – likely underground. The walls are lined with bookshelves, and at one of them, is Kenny. He drops the book he’s holding and runs to hug Eve. “You made it.”

A minute later, the moment is shattered by Villanelle tumbling out of the fire and knocking into them. 

Awkwardness aside, Kenny brings them into the hideout (much larger than it first appeared, with many rooms branching off the main entrance). “First things first,” he says. “Let me catch you up.”

“We may need to catch you up.” Eve says.

“On what, the Stone of Prometheus?” Kenny says. “That’s old news. Mum’s in Azkaban now.” He says it with the same blasé affect that he always has.

Noting their shock, he pauses. “Like I said. Let me catch you up.”

Turns out, a lot has happened since Eve and Villanelle left. At first, there was no news, other than the official word from the Ministry that Eve and Villanelle were criminals who conspired together to complete the murders at Hogwarts, culminating with Anna Leonova as the final victim. (Kenny reassures Eve that he never believed it, though his face goes a bit pink as he says it.) Then, about a month later, Konstantin came running to the Ministry in a panic. He had finally escaped from the binds of a terribly powerful Imperius Curse, placed on him by Carolyn. 

“What?!” Eve and Villanelle gasp in unison.

“Let me finish,” Kenny says. “Konstantin was under her control the entire time. The plot was all hers, but she needed Konstantin’s connections to set up her plan to test the Stone, and when he wouldn’t cooperate, she forced him with an Unforgivable Curse. “

“How could anyone use the Imperius Curse for that long?” Villanelle wonders. “It must’ve been years.”

“If anyone could do it, it would be Carolyn,” Eve says.

“At that point, she was immediately removed from her position as Minister and thrown in Azkaban. The Stone of Prometheus was confiscated and locked in the Ministry.”

“Forgive me if I’m missing something,” Eve says, when he’s finished. “But it seems like everything’s a lot better than when we left.”

Kenny thinks for a moment, then begins walks. “Before I go on, let me introduce you to the team.” He beckons them into the next room.

They find what appears to be a cozy kitchen, lit by small lamps with a warm yellow glow. A thick wood table dominates most of the space, with a couple familiar faces seated on either side.

“This is our little resistance,” Kenny says.

“Elena?” Eve says. “Bill?!”

“Good to see you again, Eve,” Elena says with a grin. “I’m glad it turned out you weren’t all evil and such.”

“It was a pleasure to work with you briefly,” Bill adds, “As well as your colleague.”

Eve nods, hit with a pang of pain for Hugo’s death again, though touched that Bill remembers him.

“Kenny reached out to us and asked if we’d lend a hand for the greater good,” Elena says. “Naturally, I leapt at the chance, especially after getting sacked for no good reason.”

“Hogwarts must be putting out a lot of job postings,” Eve remarks. “They’re down, what, three professors now, plus a librarian?”

“Actually, only two,” Bill says. “Professor Ko is still teaching Herbology. Yes, as a ghost.”

Villanelle mumbles something like _don’t feel bad about that one_ , but Eve decides not to ask her to repeat it.

“But he couldn’t replace the Leonovs on such short notice, I suppose, or maybe he decided the positions had bad juju. They’ve suspended History of Magic and Divination for this year.”

Villanelle falls silent and shifty. The others seem to notice her presence for the first time. 

Eve jumps in to smooth over the moment. “You said two replacements. Who’s the other one?”

Kenny swallows. “ _That_ is why I called you. Last week, Professor Lawson vanished.”

Professor Lawson. Eve recalls the lanky, beautiful woman who taught Transfiguration at Hogwarts, who said, to please, call her “Jess”. Though Eve didn’t end up spending much time with her, since she thankfully wasn’t involved in the conspiracy, she liked Jess, and a pang goes through her chest at the news.

“Vanished? No body?” Villanelle asks.

“No trace,” Bill confirms.

“Then maybe she’s gone off somewhere?”

“Maybe,” Elena says. “But she didn’t give any notice to her husband. Left him alone with their newborn. Jess wouldn’t do that… unless she was in terrible danger.”

Eve has little to say to that. Terrible danger, or else she’s already dead. Doesn’t look great.

Villanelle jumps in next. “So what? People are in danger all the time. Why is it our problem?”

“I’ve got a bad feeling,” Kenny says. “No proof, but that’s why I wanted the most experienced people on this – whatever it is – before it’s too late. Because I remember the feeling when Kasia died.”

Eve gets a chill, as Kenny recounts Villanelle’s first murder back at Hogwarts. Before Eve had met her; before she was called to investigate. 

“Everyone talked of how strange it was, and how tragic,” Kenny goes on. “But I had a bad feeling, even before Dom came to me and said she couldn’t have done it herself. I’ve got that same feeling now.”

“You think…” Eve begins. “But you said the Stone is locked up.”

“It is,” Kenny says. “Says the Ministry. But…”

He doesn’t have to finish the sentence to make it clear. His own mother betrayed everyone while serving as the Minister of Magic, proof enough that appearances can be deceiving.

“We need your help, Eve,” Elena says. “You were the one able to put it together the first time. Hopefully, with what you already know, and a two-body head start compared to last time,“ – the slightest hitch in her voice as she pointedly avoids Villanelle’s gaze – “we can stop it before it gets that bad.”

“What about me?” Villanelle asks.

“You are our inside expert,” Bill says, clapping her on the arm. He seems the least skittish around her. “Given your… experience, you probably know more about how the Stone works than any other wizard alive today.”

Elena grimaces. “Except Carolyn, who’s a nice distance away in Azkaban, and Konstantin, who’s not exactly a team player these days.”

“What do you mean?” Eve asks.

“He’s a bit traumatized by what happened,” Kenny explains.

“He sacked me on the _suspicion_ I had something to do with it, because I’d pulled materials about the Stone of Prometheus after you lot vanished.” Elena adds. “Wouldn’t listen to a word I said about it. I’d put in a letter to the Workplace Ethics board at the Ministry, except that I’m having more fun here anyway.”

“A bit of paranoia is understandable after being under the Imperius curse for so long,” Bill admits.

Kenny frowns. “The bottom line is, even if he’s retained full memory from his time under M– under Carolyn’s control, he’s hardly eager to chat with us.”

“And so we are left to ask for the help of a mass murderer instead,” Bill says with an impish grin.

Then, all three stare at Eve. Finally, Eve realizes they’re waiting for an answer right now.

“Can we think about it?”

They take a break. Villanelle goes with Bill who offers to show her around the hideout (and to where the snacks are kept), while Eve hangs back with Kenny.

“Where are we?” she asks, looking up at the ceiling.

“Under Diagon Alley,” Kenny answers, while he tidies up a pile of books and scrolls on one of the shelves. “No direct entrance for security’s sake, but we’re only a few meters away from the center of Wizarding life. The Leaky Cauldron is right above your head.”

“Now I get the nickname,” Eve says.

“What have you and Villanelle been up to all this time?”

“Running,” Eve says.

“That’s all?”

“What are you implying, Kenny?”

“Nothing.” He blushes and directs his focus back to his cleaning. A moment later, he pauses, staring at a small photo he unearthed in the pile. A wizard photo, obviously, wherein the subjects are moving and smiling. Eve recognizes the image of Carolyn, with a few less years on her, holding a young boy of maybe five, who she supposes must be Kenny. Next to them, young girl, a teenager, who looks a bit like Carolyn, but with a kinder face.

“Who’s that?”

“Just family,” Kenny murmurs “Last photo of us I have together. Know I shouldn’t care, about evil people, but I can’t bear to get rid of it.”

“They’re still your family,” Eve says.

Kenny nods and stares blankly.

Eve wraps her arms around him. Kenny doesn’t exactly hug back, but he relaxes a little bit into it.

A few seconds later, he grows uncomfortable and slips out of her grasp. “I understand you’re in a hard position,” Kenny says. “Want you to know it’s alright whatever you decide. You. And Villanelle. We’re happy to have either.”

The way he phrases it, Eve isn’t sure if he means, _we’d be happier to have you alone_. But she shakes that off.

“Think about it,” he says. “Let me know tomorrow.”

After dinner back at Niko’s (at Villanelle’s request, he made more Shepherd’s Pie), they huddle in the guest room and discuss the topic at hand.

Eve paces around the bed, while Villanelle sits by the tank and watches the snake.

“I suppose there’s two questions,” Eve begins. “ _Can_ we help, which is a maybe. _Should_ we help – and that’s obvious. I mean, we thought they’d need warning about Carolyn and Konstantin, or just Carolyn, I guess, but it seems that’s taken care of. If Kenny says something else bad’s in the air, I believe him. So it’s the least we can do to pitch in now, given how we ditched this whole country before. What do you think?”

Villanelle doesn’t respond, and Eve has to poke her in the back with her wand. “Uh. Sorry. I was listening to him.”

The snake. Of course. Eve puts her head in her hands. “Look, I need you to decide, too. Kenny said, it has to be up to each of us.” Eve doesn’t broach the thought of them separating… at least not until Villanelle gives her answer. “So, are you in or out?”

Villanelle scrunches up her mouth and thinks for three seconds. Then says, “I’m in.”

“Really?” Eve repeats. “I mean… why?”

“Same reason I came back here with you in the first place,” Villanelle says. “The Muggle Tour of the United States was getting really boring.”

“And you don’t mind that they’re still looking for you?”

Villanelle shrugs. “We will stay away from the Ministry anyway.”

“I guess you’re right,” Eve says. “As long as they don’t know we’re here, it doesn’t matter.”

“What do you think is going on?” Villanelle asks.

“I don’t know,” Eve says. “It could be nothing. Or it could be bad.”

“I can’t wait to see Eve the Auror at work,” Villanelle grins and sidles close. “Figuring it all out with that big brain.”

“Don’t get your hopes up too high,” Eve chuckles. “Pretty sure that last case was my peak.”

“Don’t sell yourself short.” Villanelle presses her lips to Eve’s. Warm, soft. Brief. 

“No, I seriously _hope_ that was my biggest case ever,” Eve adds, as she pulls away. “Had enough near-death experiences to tide me over for a while, thank you.”

Decision made, they head back downstairs for tea. Niko’s in the parlor watching cricket, giving his guests space.

Right as the kettle boils, the doorbell rings. 

Eve is about to call out to Niko, but it’s too late; he’s already opened the door. Past Niko’s silhouette, Eve’s able to make out the broader frame of her old colleague, with whom she worked on a string of cases years ago. Decked out in a charcoal cloak with a shiny Ministry badge on the lapel.

“Hello, Eve,” Jamie says. “Wonderful to see you again.”

**Author's Note:**

> God, this story is such a monster I know I'm gonna be hating myself in a few weeks but for now I'm just excited to start!
> 
> let me know thoughts in the comments
> 
> Or come say hi on [tumblr](https://imunbreakabledude.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/not_breakable) xo


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